Public Hearing on Permit for West Main Street Development

The Charlottesville Planning Commission approved with conditions plans for a proposed high density development along West Main Street.

The group held a public hearing on a special use permit Tuesday evening. The developers need the permit to increase the density and height of two proposed buildings for what they call "The Plaza at West Main Street."

The buildings would house 219 residential units, almost 12,000 square feet of commercial space and three levels of underground parking.

Charlottesville City Councilor Kristin Szakos said, "One of the things we're looking at and have been looking at for several years is to make that region more vibrant and more active, so we can have both residents and businesses and people coming back and forth the city and the university."

The developer says traffic in the area will decrease by 15 percent because the University of Virginia students that would live there would likely walk, bike, or use transit.

Escafe has been a go-to spot for many people in the Charlottesville community. But, on Saturday the nightlife spot will say 'last call' for the final time. A new owner has taken over and several units along Water Street and the Downtown Mall and businesses are getting the boot for an IT company.

A grassroots group has gathered more than 5,000 signatures in its first week of a petition drive to remove the Jones name from buildings at the University of Virginia – including on John Paul Jones Arena.

2018-02-16T23:00:21Z2018-02-16T23:00:21ZPolice on Wednesday were trying to piece together how a 49-year-old skier whose disappearance sparked a massive search on a snowy New York mountainside ended up six days later in California, confused and still in ski clothes.